Nyaope - township drug of choice

LIMPOPO – A hit of Nyaope, a drug made up of low-grade heroin, marijuana, cleaning detergents and Rattex (rat poison), sells for R35 a hit in the streets of Mahwelereng and Marapong. The highly-addictive street drug is sold in loops, bags, hits, straws and foils.
The risk of overdosing from injecting is high as the user does not know what mix he is actually injecting into his body (10-50% heroin is used depending on the dealer). Another popular way of using this drug in South Africa is smoking, traditionally called “Chasing the dragon”. The drug is put on a foil and heated - the smoke is then inhaled with a straw.
According to a 2013 study by the Department of Social Development – Substance use, misuse and abuse amongst the youth in Limpopo the average age of drug users has decreased dramatically. Some of the users who participated in the study were as young as nine (9). These findings were confirmed when Northern News spoke to addicts in the Mokopane area.
A volunteer who works to get addicts off the streets, told Northern News: “I was shocked when I realised that drug dealers are targeting young children.”
Socioeconomic challenges such as unemployment, poverty, peer pressure and crime in general contribute to the rise in substance abuse. “These issues are a daily reality in towns like Mokopane and Lephalale,” the volunteer says. “Having nothing to do, Nyaope ‘hot spots’ are formed where addicts gather to smoke and inject the drug.”
Nyaope is the drug of choice in especially Mahwelereng, Madiba, Moshate and Sekgakgapeng.
Northern News approached a 17-year-old addict who says he started using marijuana at the age of 12 and was introduced to nyaope by friends at the age of 14. He is injecting and smoking the drug and while he admits to using regularly, he says he wants to break free from the addiction. “I was expelled from school because I started stealing from learners and teachers to pay for drugs,” he says, adding that his family does not trust him anymore because he stole from home as well.
He understands why they don’t trust him and that his actions are wrong, but say that the need to fuel his addiction was stronger than the guilt he felt for breaking their trust. He craves the feeling nyaope gives him.
The police in Mahwelereng confirms that the issue of nyaope is worrying and on the rise in the area. They say that drug dealers target anyone – business people, school children and even the unemployed. “This drug is adversely affecting our community,” says Mahwelereng police spokesperson Constable Sello Leso. “School children are using pocket money to buy nyaope.”
He urges anyone with any information on drug use to report it to the nearest police station. “Keep an eye on your children and get help as soon as possible.”